Ipads - Week of March 4

     Today we got to "play" and explore on ipads!  I had NO IDEA of all the things that those are capable of doing.  I am finally beginning to see all the possibilities that they have in the classroom.  One app that Bob introduced us to was Colarapp.  I can't begin to tell you how much fun I have had with this in the last two days!  I experimented with my 8yr old son first.  I had him color the picture and asked him what would be the coolest thing that he could think of about that picture of that bird.  He excitedly said, "Fly off the page".  Well, once I showed him how it comes to "life" in 3D he thought he had just witnessed a miracle. :)  My excitement for this app didn't stop there.  I introduced it to our 2nd grade teacher and she couldn't believe it either.  She is planning on designing a lesson plan for creative writing based on this app!  I then went into our 5th grade room and showed my students....they too were amazed.  And finally I had our art teacher look at it and all she kept saying was, "Wow, wow, wow"!

                 Again, the endless wonder of technology....

Webquest - Week of Feb. 11-March 4

Webquests...that was our assignment this week.  We started the process of becoming familiar with them by looking at numerous websites that features different examples.  The three main sites I focused on were www.zunal.com, www.webquest.org, and www.questgarden.com.   I just looked at my watch and I am shocked that I have been sitting here for 3 hours looking at these fascinating and intriguing examples!!!  I am amazed at the huge variety that teachers have.  There is everything from the very basic to extremely complex and detailed.  I found one that I was particularly drawn to that I used to complete my Webquest worksheet.  I am looking forward to building our own Project Based Google Site.


Here is the link to my Webquest I created
Laine's Webquest-Friends

Google in Education. Week of Feb. 4-11

   This week we were assigned to explore and discover more of what Google is all about.  I really had fun learning about the Google Slide Presentation tools and created my first Google Slide Show.  This is yet another fun way to present ideas to students instead of using a Power Point presentation.  I found this format easier to use but a bit more basic than Prezi which we had prior experience on.  I think that the Google Slide Presentation would be a wonderful way for my future students to also create a presentation to share a little bit about themselves and to introduce themselves to the classroom.
 

Blogging Discussion Questions. Week of Jan 28 - Feb. 4

   This week our assignment was to answer the following Blogging Discussion Questions:

1. How can you use blogs in your classroom? Remember - blogging can contain video recording, this is normally called vlogging.
2. Where or how will blogs fit into your curriculum?
3. What is the purpose of blogging in the classroom?

     As a future educator, I am so excited by just some of the possibilities to incorporate blogging into the classroom.  Here are just a few examples.  Create a blog to communicate class/school information with parents. Post field trip information, field trip forms, parent helper calendars, general classroom guidelines and more.  Create a blog with daily lessons listed for students who are sick or gone.  I can use a blog to showcase individual art projects throughout the year.  Create a blog where students share stories about their favorite holiday, or a blog about special holiday traditions in their family.
  
   Blogging can be incorporated into the curriculum in a similar manner any writing or research assignment is applied.  For example, I could post a daily writing prompt that students can access and respond to in the blog. They can read their classmates responses, and learn to develop their own ideas. I can even have the students respond to each other’s posts to encourage the students to expand their ideas by responding to their classmate’s questions.

     There are numerous purposes and benefits of blogging in the classroom.  Here are just a few examples.  It is highly motivating to students, especially those who otherwise might not become participants in classrooms. It is an excellent opportunity for students to read and write.  It is also an effective forum for collaborating and discussion.  Blogging also serves as a powerful tool to enable scaffolded learning or mentoring to occur.

What is Social Studies? Week of Jan. 21-27

   One of our first assignments this week was to read Chapter 1 of "Visualizing Elementary Social Studies Methods" and to write a description of what Social Studies is.

   In the textbook Social Studies is defined as the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence.  In an explanation that is a bit more easier to understand...

 Social Studies focuses on teaching children about their world so they can establish their own views about society and culture. Learning about their own and different cultures gives children a well-rounded view of the world.  Social studies is also the study of people. Social studies should help children acquire knowledge, master the processes of learning, and become active citizens.